Composite article and process of making same



1 2 April w 9 7 R. w. sEABuRY (/JOMPOSITE ARTICLE AND PROCESS OF MAKING SAME Filed July 21, 1922 rammed npr., rp, 19.27.

- UNITED sTA'fras PATENT ,-oFFlcs.

RICHARD w. snaismanr, or iaooNToN,l NEW JERSEY, AassreNon To nanro FREQUENCY LABORATORIES, INcoEroEATEn, or nooNToN, NEW JERSEY, aconroEATroN or NEW JERSEY.

coMrosITE .aminorar` Nn rnocEss or MAKING SAME.

applicativa mea July 21, 1922. serial No. 576,637.

` This' invention relatesyto composite or laminated sheets or other articles, and comprises a novel-article of' this y process for its preparation. na typical and 6 preferred' embodiment the invention comprises a laminated sheet presenting on one or both sides surfaces of wood, iirmlg cemented to andcombined with aflexible brous material such as paper, felt or cloth, herein- 10 after referred to as a fibrous base. nMy preferred binding agent, which serves also as below described as a partial or complete impre nation for the wood layer, is a phenolic con ensation product'of the so-called pptentially reactive type which is capable of transformation by suliicient heating into an infusible body. It is well known thatl condensation products possessing the property of becoming infusible under the action of heat have been employed heretofore as bindin'g and impregnatmg agents in the assembly of laminated bodies, as disclosed for example in the United States patents to Baekeland Nos. 1,019,406 and 1,019,408 patented Marchv 5, 1912; but my laminated'product presents certain features of distinction and advantage, as hereinafter fully set forth.

The drawing formingpart of the speciication shows/a section of my composite sheet. In preparing the laminated sheet or similar article, I preferably apply non-i'mpregnated but pervious sheets or vfsa-called f veneers of wood to oneor bothlsides of the fibrous base, which may itself comprise a single sheet or any desired number ofjsuch sheets of paper, vcloth or similar materials and which has been coated or'impregnated with the phenolic condensation roduct in its initial or fusible state, common y referred 40 torin this art as the A condition.` Upon subjectingthe resulting assembly to heavypressure at a suicient temperature the 4plienolic condensation product atrst melts and impregnates the .wood layer, or layers from 45. within outwardly, the impregnation extending either partially or completely through the wood according to the thickness and perviousness of the latter, and the amount of impre ating' agent used. In anyccase'the quantity of `impregnatin agent should be suiiicientpto-insurethat t e wood is firmly and indissolubl cemented to the a r or fabric base z an thetemperature an .time of type and a novel l chemicals and will withstand without heating should be sufficientto effect the transformation of the phenolic condensation product into its infusible state or a suffi-f 1ciently cloe approximation to the final state for the particular purposes in view. This `operation is ordinarily carried out between steam-heated platens in a hydraulic or other press, and is now well understood by lthose temperatures destructive lto wood. It is practically non-inflammable. It may present smooth and plane s rfaees; or according to the conformatiorI of the platens it tour; or it may bei impressed in any desired configuration o'r design. Naturally the characterlstics of the .article will var in accordance with-the degree to which t e phenolic condensation product has penetrated to or toward the exposed surface of the wood.

The fibrousbase,l in case paper is used, may comprise a single sheet of paper or any desired number of such sheets; and some or all of these'sheets may be impregnated with substances other than phenolic condensation products, such for example as asphaltic or other bituminous bodies, resinous substances, or likefusible impre ating a ents. For example I have successllly emp oyed for this purpose ordinary roofing called, -both nated, and I have also used a laminated paper product whereof the interior ply or nous or asphaltic material, the outer or exinjury 76 .may be given any desire curvature or conpaper, soimpregnated and non-,impreg- Y posed plies being non-impregnated and consequently porous. The use of' such impregnated or partially im regnated sheets of paper, felt, fabric or t e like presents the advantage thatv a much smaller proportion- .ate uantityv of the more expensive'- phenolic condlensation product is required than would otherwise be the case. but care must be taken 'that the proportion of the bitumen or v described are well adapted to re f nolic condensation other fusible substance to ,liber is not excessive, sinceV otherwise it will tend to flow 'irf regularly and excessively under the high temperature of the molding or press' o ration. In the finished article the usible impregnating material is so fully encased in or confined vby the layers containing the infusible and immobile. tion product, that further movement of the former' need not be apprehended, even at hi h temperatures. v a

lates or panels prepared als-hereinabove lace mahogany and other expensive wo in their ap lications to furniture and cabinet work, su for example as desk-tops, filing cabinets and the like: furthermore such panels, reason of their imperviousness and waterre ellent quality, are excellent electrical insu ators and are well suitedfor use in connection with'ra'dio receiving sets or cabinets and all analogous applications.

For certain applications where a wood finish is not desired, one or both of the eic-J be of a fibrous matev rterior laminations ny rial other than wo such for example as paper or cloth, impregnated from within outwardly as described above with the 'heproduct transforme to the infusible state, or Inoreinterior` layers constituting a fibrous base impregnated"with a fusible substance, usually of a bituminous or asphaltic nature;

and such composite sheets or other articles rised within the present invention. Many ot er modifications 'may be made with- .in the peratures, lrequisite physical and chemical pro rties,

phenolic oondensa' and associated with onetransformed to an A, spirit of my invention. Any binder v which is capable of ow'ing under moderate L application of heat but is rendered or'immobile by a plication of-hi an w ich w t e other is to be Pur con ensation products of t active type.

Iclaim: 1. A composite article presenting an extrior surface of wood, and a fibrous base therefor, the wood cemented to the fibrous base by means of an infusible phenolic condensation product and im regnated therewith from within outwar ly, said fibrous base impregnated with a bituminous mate ded as an equivalent or the o thisinventio `ofthe henolic potentially reby arial.

`2. `A composite article composed of a plurality of laminations or layers of fibrous material, and comprising an exterior layer impregnated with an infusible phenolic condensation product, and an interior layer comprising iibrous material impregnated with a bituminous material.

'-3. Method'of making a, composite article comprising applying) to a fibrous base impregnated wit a ituminous material, a phenolic condensation product in fusible State; aspirin and subjecting t e assembly to heat and prev sure, whereby the previous sheet is impregnated with the phenolic condensation pro duct from within outwardl andthe latter is infusib e condition.

In testimony whereof, I aiiix my signa- K ,"'nicnaRD W, snasunr.

infusible her tein- 40 thereto a pervious sheet;- 

